The two volume Informing Science series is the first attempt to survey
and synthesizes research in the informing science transdiscipline. Part
textbook, part collection of readings, the two volumes present both
important research findings relating to the field and highlight fertile
directions for future research. Volume One: Concepts and Systems
focuses on the key building blocks of informing science. It begins with
an overview of the transdiscipline, tracing its evolution from Cohen’s
original proposal to its present state. Next, it considers a series of
concepts that frequently elude attempts at rigorous definition. Among
these: theory, research, information, knowledge and complexity. With
working definitions established, it goes on to explore basic systems
theory, introducing the concept of an informing system. The key elements
of such systems—the channel, the sender/informer, and the
receiver/client—are then examined individually. The volume concludes
with two overview chapters. The first of these looks at the analysis of a
basic informing system, in which a single informer interacts directly
with a clearly specified client or set of clients. The last chapter
extends these ideas to the more complex topologies (e.g., multiple
channels, multiple informers, multiple clients, layers of informing)
that are more typical in real world informing contexts.